Romans 1 — Clausal Layout (English)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

The salutation — one suspended sentence 1:1–7

vv. 1–4 — Paul, set apart for the gospel of the Son

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle,independent — the sender — verbless, and suspended until v. 7

set apart for the gospel of God —participial — perfect participle — marked off for the gospel

which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scripturesrelative — the gospel not novel — pre-announced in Scripture

concerning his Son,phrase modifier — the gospel's theme — christological at its core

who came from the seed of David according to the flesh,participial — the credo, line 1 — Davidic descent κατὰ σάρκα

who was appointed Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead —participial — the credo, line 2 — installed Son-of-God-in-power (twin of γενομένου)

Jesus Christ our Lord,phrase modifier — apposition — the confession resolves in the full name and title

vv. 5–7 — the commission, the address, the greeting

through whom we received grace and apostleship, for the obedience of faith among all the nations, on behalf of his name —relative — δι' οὗ — the commission; ὑπακοὴν πίστεως read as 'the obedience which faith is'

among whom you also are, called of Jesus Christ —relative — the Romans folded into the nations — they too are called

to all those who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints:phrase modifier — the address at last — the dative snaps back to the suspended Παῦλος

grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.independent — the greeting — verbless

Thanksgiving and the longing to come 1:8–15

vv. 8–10 — thanksgiving, and the oath of constant prayer

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,independent — the epistolary thanksgiving — μέν left without its δέ

because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.cause — the ground — a faith the whole world reports

For God is my witness —independent — the oath-parenthesis — γάρ backing the claim of constancy

whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son —relative — the witness qualified — gospel work as priestly service

how unceasingly I make mention of you,content — what God witnesses — the ὡς clause of unceasing remembrance

always in my prayers,phrase modifier — the occasions — every time he prays

askingparticipial — the mention sharpened into petition

if somehow now at last I may succeed, by the will of God,content — εἴ πως ἤδη ποτέ — the wistful deliberative, hedged by God's will

in coming to you.content — epexegetic infinitive — what succeeding would mean

vv. 11–13 — why he longs to come: gift, encouragement, fruit

For I long to see you,independent — the longing behind the prayers

that I may impart to you some spiritual giftpurpose — the visit's aim — something shared, not shown off

for you to be strengthened —purpose — εἰς τό + infinitive — the gift's goal

that is, to be mutually encouraged among you, through one another's faith, both yours and mine.phrase modifier — the tactful correction — τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν: the giver will also receive

But I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,independent — the disclosure formula

that I often purposed to come to you — and was prevented until now —content — the plans and the hindrance in one breath

that I might have some fruit among you also,purpose — the intended coming's purpose — harvest in Rome too

just as among the rest of the Gentiles.comparative — the comparison — Rome no exception to the mission

vv. 14–15 — the debtor's eagerness

To Greeks and to barbarians, to wise and to foolish, I am a debtor;independent — the obligation — the whole Gentile world in two merisms

hence my eagerness, for my part, to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.independent — verbless — τὸ κατ' ἐμὲ πρόθυμον, the readiness that pays the debt

The thesis — the gospel as God's saving power 1:16–17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel,independent — the thesis opens — litotes: unashamed before Rome

for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.cause — ground 1 — God's saving power, universal in scope, Jewish in order

for in it the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith,cause — ground 2 — ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν read as 'by faith from first to last'

as it is written:comparative — the warrant from Scripture

'The one who is righteous by faith shall live.'content — Hab 2:4 — ἐκ πίστεως construed with ὁ δίκαιος, matching the thesis

Wrath revealed — truth suppressed, glory exchanged 1:18–23

vv. 18–20 — the revelation of wrath, and the knowledge that damns

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of menindependent — the dark counterpart — ἀποκαλύπτεται answers v. 17's ἀποκαλύπτεται

who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,participial — attributive — the truth held down, not missing

because what can be known of God is plain among them;cause — διότι on the suppression — you can only hold down what you have

for God has made it plain to them.cause — the plainness is God's own doing

For his invisible attributes, since the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood through the things made —cause — the paradox — the invisible clearly seen in what is made

namely his eternal power and divine nature —phrase modifier — apposition — the invisible things named

so that they are without excuse;purpose — εἰς τό + infinitive — result: no defense to plead

vv. 21–23 — knowing, they would not worship: the great exchange

because, though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks,cause — διότι — concessive γνόντες: knowledge without worship

but became futile in their reasonings,cause — coordinate in the διότι clause — the ἀλλά turn to futility

and their senseless heart was darkened.cause — coordinate — the darkening of the undiscerning heart

Claiming to be wise, they became fools,independent — asyndetic verdict — the internal participle drips irony

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles.independent — the great exchange — Ps 106:20; the ladder descends man → birds → beasts → reptiles

The threefold handover 1:24–32

vv. 24–25 — handover 1: to impurity — the truth traded for the lie

Therefore God gave them over, in the desires of their hearts, to impurity,independent — verdict 1 — διό: the handover answers the exchange of v. 23

so that their bodies are dishonored among them —purpose — τοῦ + infinitive — the impurity's issue: dishonored bodies

such people as exchanged the truth of God for the lie,relative — οἵτινες — qualitative: the kind who traded truth for the lie

and revered and served the creature rather than the Creator,relative — coordinate in the οἵτινες clause — worship misdirected

who is blessed forever. Amen.relative — the doxological recoil — the Creator blessed, ἀμήν

vv. 26–27 — handover 2: to dishonorable passions

For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions;independent — verdict 2 — διὰ τοῦτο: the same exchange, the same handover

for their females exchanged the natural use for that contrary to nature,cause — γάρ — the passions specified; μετήλλαξαν echoes v. 25

and likewise the males too, having left the natural use of the female, were inflamed in their craving for one another,cause — the parallel case — the internal ἀφέντες kept in the line

males with males committing the shameless actparticipial — the burning enacted

and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.participial — the recompense in the body — the wage the error owed

vv. 28–32 — handover 3: to the unfit mind — the catalogue and the verdict

And just as they did not see fit to keep God in their knowledge,comparative — forward-leaning καθώς — leans on the verdict below; ἐδοκίμασαν sets up ἀδόκιμον

God gave them over to an unfit mind,independent — verdict 3 — measure for measure: they dis-approved God, God gave a dis-approved mind

to do what is not fitting —purpose — infinitive of result — conduct follows the mind

filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, malice;participial — the catalogue opens — four abstracts on αὐτούς, asyndetic

full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity;phrase modifier — five genitives — φθόνου/φόνου, the rhyming pair

gossips,phrase modifier — the list turns to persons — whisperers first

slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful;phrase modifier — from whisper to open swagger

inventors of evils, disobedient to parents;phrase modifier — novelty in evil; the household broken

senseless, faithless, loveless, merciless;phrase modifier — the ἀ- quartet — alpha-privatives close the list

such people as know full well the just decree of God —relative — οἵτινες — suspended over its verbs; concessive ἐπιγνόντες

that those who practice such things are worthy of death —content — the decree's content — death the desert

not only do them but also applaud those who practice them.relative — the climax — the οἵτινες clause's verbs land: doing, and applauding the doers

Analysis. Romans 1 opens with the longest salutation in the Pauline corpus, and the shape shows why: Παῦλος stands verbless at the margin and stays suspended for six verses while the gospel he was set apart for is unpacked beneath it — promised (rel), about the Son (mod), who was born and appointed (the twin credal participles side by side at one depth), Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom the commission came, reaching the Romans themselves — until the dative address of v. 7 snaps back to depth 1, directly under Παῦλος, and the verbless greeting closes the sentence flush-left. The thanksgiving (vv. 8–15) alternates purple main verbs with their satellites: the oath μάρτυς γάρ μού ἐστιν ὁ θεός is given its own flush-left line as a parenthetical ground, carrying the ὡς clause of constant prayer down through δεόμενος to the wistful εἴ πως petition. The thesis (vv. 16–17) is a γάρ staircase: unashamed → because power → because righteousness revealed → as written — Hab 2:4 a blue content line under the one word γέγραπται. Verses 18–23 descend the same way six levels deep (wrath revealed → suppressors → διότι known → γάρ God showed it → γάρ seen since creation → without excuse → διότι they knew and would not worship), and then vv. 24–32 set the triple παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεός flush-left as three parallel verdicts, each with its grounds and issue hanging beneath, the vice catalogue of vv. 29–31 a dashed verbless column all anchored on the one word αὐτούς, and the οἵτινες indictment of v. 32 suspended over its final verbs: they do them, and they applaud. Interpretive sides taken: ὑπακοὴν πίστεως (v. 5) is read epexegetically ('the obedience which faith is'); ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν (v. 17) as 'by faith from first to last' (faith the origin and the goal, not a relay from God's faithfulness to ours); in Hab 2:4 ἐκ πίστεως is construed with ὁ δίκαιος ('the one who is righteous by faith shall live'), matching the letter's thesis; the διότι of v. 19 grounds the suppression charge (they hold down what is plainly shown), not the wrath directly; and the καθώς of v. 28 is set leaning forward on its verdict like a protasis — the measure-for-measure clause (ἐδοκίμασαν → ἀδόκιμον) precedes the handover it measures.